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Archive for October, 2011

I just came back from a community meeting, where there was much joy in the air. The elementary/junior high school had closed down about 10 years ago due to mold issues. The children are currently being bussed to a Miramichi an hour away to attend school. Twice in the past there has been news of a school happening but an election caused a new government that didn’t uphold the past governments promises etc. I just moved here so I don’t know a lot of the long battle it’s been to get to this point, but I know there has been a lot of lobbying government and petitioning, a lot of hardwork.

Today, the community heard the news it longed to hear. They are getting a school, with an attached community center and library. It is hoped that the work may start and be completed by August 2013.

It offers hope for an area that has been hard hit by mill closures, loss of young people (those under 60) to the jobs out west and lack of jobs in their hometown.

It is just such great news for an area that has been hit so hard in the past. I had to share the joy.

It was huge news. There are closer schools, one for French kids, and one for First Nation kids. The english non-first nation kids, are bussed almost an hour. We are basically an English community surrounded by French and First Nation communities. So it’s difficult when the kids have to bus an hour away.

This offers a lot of hope, for an area that has seen some pretty bad times. It is very exciting. I think it may also cause new people to move into the community, as there will be a school there for their children to attend.

It makes me feel better, as once we adopt, our child will have a school to attend in town. I’d be nervous having my child bus an hour away.

The people in town are overjoyed. They did a lot of work for this, and for 10 years they have fought for a school.

A person only has to walk into a church on a Sunday to see one of the churches biggest problems. There are lost generations. This problem of little to no young adults can be seen across the Christian church, across the world. The mainline church is a sea of grey.

So where have all the young people gone? How do we attract young people to the church? Those questions are often asked by those who are in the church. While someone may have attended church faithfully as a child, they seem to now be gone from the pews once they become an adult, what happened?

Jared Herd describes himself as a “youth expert”. He attempts to look into this problem which he describes as “more lost than found”. Herd has a huge task ahead of him. He doesn’t take the traditional route of looking at what can we do, but instead also looks at what the church has done wrong over the years.

One main item that Herd highlights is that the church has moved away from focusing on the works of Christ and instead has focused on laws and doctrine over the years. This has contributed to this lost generation in the church.

Herd does not offer answers as to this is what you must do to get the youth in the church. Instead Herd writes a book directed at those who have left the church, the lost but seeking. The book is also directed at those who are involved in youth ministry. In my mind it is more of a resource to give to those who are beginning to slip away.

Overall, Herd writes in an easy to understand way, and the book was interesting. I found myself agreeing to many of the points he has made. I must stress however, the book doesn’t offer answers as to how to get youth into the church, but instead offers a different way to thinking about how we minister to those outside of the church, how do we minister to the lost

I would rate this book at a 4/5. It is an excellent read, and something i know that I will find myself offering to others to read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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It is hard to believe that this small tiny place could be bumping, but today it was. We had to go to the community breakfast, as managers of the church were hosting the breakfast this morning. We walked down to the hall to find the parking lot filled, and the hall packed. It was nice to see so much support for the church.

I am still trying to figure out names and faces, along with who is related to who. That is challenging. I am starting to get better at it.

I had to admit though that it is still so lonely here. It is difficult to be “the young people” in a town. We aren’t young, we are approaching almost 20. Even the lovely people in the church have said this area is a retirement community. I guess the real question comes up how do we survive being socially isolated.

It is not an exaggeration to say that we are socially isolated. There is no one around who is our age or even near our age. That is including an hour drive away into the “city”. Although lets be frank, the city, is not a city, it is an amalgamation of four towns. It is also hard to be isolated by language. When I said Yes God I will follow you”, I never expected to be put in a place where even the language is foriegn.

I am finding myself often looking back and wishing that I had taken french courses in university. It is also difficult to realize that I came here with a partner whom I basically forced unemployment upon. I am still finding myself praying, asking God, why was I sent here? Was there a mistake made?

Yes, the people in the churches are lovely, but I don’t know if I can handle the personal stresses. I think the hardest is knowing my partner does not have work, and faces very few options for work being english living in an area that is mostly french.

In some ways I feel like the church failed us in putting us here, like I was set up to fail. How does the church expect me to have a flourishing ministry when my personal life is failing? We can’t have friends as there simple is no one to be friends with, and there is no work. It is very tough.

It really is a test of faith to stay here. I feel closer to some of the first testament writers right now, as I feel exiled from the promised land filled with employment and friends. The bills are piling up, especially student loans, and with one paycheck they can’t all be paid. I’m stressed, lonely, and I just want to cry.

This week has been a fairly good week, I haven’t cried every day, although that does mean there have been a few days where I have been bawling my eyes out. I know it’s not healthy. My prayer life is suffering.

When I think about it, I guess part of it is that I do have a little bit of anger. I am not sure why God put me here. I know God does not give us more than we can handle, but right now I am close to my breaking point. I don’t know how much more stress I can handle. I feel so alone, and that isn’t a good feeling.

God, please help and bring me back to you. I offer up my life in service of your work, but I’m not sure how much more this servant can take.